3318 Blixen
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3318 Blixen, provisionally designated Template:Mp, is a stony Eoan asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 23 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Danish astronomers Poul Jensen and Karl Augustesen at Brorfelde Observatory on 23 April 1985.<ref name="MPC-Blixen" />
Blixen is a member of the Eos family (Template:Small), the largest asteroid family in the outer main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.9–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,905 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic.<ref name="jpldata" />
Photometric observations of this asteroid collected during 2006 show a rotation period of 6.456 ± 0.003 hours with a brightness variation of 0.20 ± 0.02 magnitude.<ref name="BMPS33_4_85"/>
This minor planet was named after Danish novelist Karen Blixen (1885–1962), best known for the memoir Out of Africa.<ref name="springer" /> The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 18 September 1986 (Template:Small).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />
References
External links
- Lightcurve plot of 3318 Blixen, Palmer Divide Observatory, B. D. Warner (2006)
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Template:Webarchive)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- Template:AstDys
- Template:JPL small body
Template:Minor planets navigator Template:Small Solar System bodies Template:Authority control